中国首个车内空气质量评估指南

In recent years, lawsuits caused by poor car indoor air quality have been on the rise. Consumers are usually at a disadvantage in such cases due to a lack of related standards. This guide is expected to provide effective legal reference to consumers who have such concerns.

A consumer surnamed Cui bought a car in March 2010. In the beginning, he smelled a strong odor in his car. After a year, the odor became stronger. Cui began to lose hair and get frequent headaches, and dizziness kept bothering him. Doctors indicated that his symptoms may be related to the formaldehyde in his car.
Cui filed a lawsuit and reached an agreement with the car manufacturer to have a third party measure the formaldehyde levels in his car.

According to the new guide, the safe standard for formaldehyde is 0.10 milligram per square meter. But the formaldehyde levels in Mr. Cui's car were 0.73 milligram per milligram, way higher the standard safety range.

The standards not only apply to new cars, but also used cars. Insiders pointed out that the guide is the first car air quality standard to fill the blank for China's indoor air quality standards.

The guide clearly defines the eight major kinds of chemicals commonly found in car air, including benzene, toluene, xylene, ethylbenzene, styrene, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acrolein and other volatile organic concentrations.

In-car air pollution mainly comes from three sources. One is the new car's interior accessories such as seats and heating materials. Another is from the car's interior materials, mainly plastic, fibers, leather, rubber and other materials. The third is the type of solvent used in the paint, thinners and bonding agents.

Song Guangsheng, secretary general of China Interior Environment Supervision Work Committee, says the guide is right on time.

"10 years ago, when we were doing a survey, we found that 80 to 90 percent of the cars in Beijing have such problems. There is another new survey in Shanghai that says that 60 to 70 percent of the cars have certain air pollution problems."

Some experts say the guide will cause manufacturers to pay more attention to the interior materials and processes and attach more importance to the air quality inside the vehicle.

However, they also point out that the guide is still just a recommendation and isn't legally binding. But in the long run, it is necessary to enforce the legal validity of complaints.

For CRI, I am Li Dong.